Folding head control devices

ABSTRACT

This control device for operating a folding head, notably of automotive vehicle, comprises alternate free and guided bows attached to the curtain, a shaped longitudinal section member associated with a longitudinal slideway and disposed on either side of the roof aperture, a plastic slide disposed on either side of each guided bow and engaging said slideway, and torsion bars interconnecting on either side of the curtain a free bow with the next guided bow, each torsion bar being secured at one end to said slide and at the opposite end to said free bow.

, United States Patent Sutren [451 Apr. 25, 1972 72] Inventor:

i5 1 FOLDING HEAD CONTROL DEVICES Claude Sutren, Billancourt, France[731 Assignees: Regle Nationlle des Usines Renault, Billancourt;Automobiles Peugeot, Paris, France [22] Filed: June 1,1970

[21] Appl.No.: 42,139

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 7, I969 France "6922958 [52]U.S. Cl. ..296/137 C [51] Int. Cl. ..B60j 7/10 [58] Field of Search..296/l37 E, 137 F, 137 R, 137 C [56] References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS0R APPLICATIONS 601,776 2/1960 Italy ..296/I37 E France ..296/l37 EPrimary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Robert R. SongAttorney-Stevens, Davis, Miller &. Mosher [57] ABSTRACT This controldevice for operating a folding-head, notably of automotive vehicle,comprises alternate free and guided bows attached to the curtain, ashaped longitudinal section member associated with a longitudinalslideway and disposed on either side of the roof aperture, a plasticslide disposed on either side of each guided bow and engaging saidslideway, and torsion bars interconnecting on either side of the curtaina free bow with the next guided how, each torsion bar being secured atone end to said slide and at the opposite end to said free how.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 25 I972 SHEET 3 [IF 3 FOLDINGHEAD CONTROL DEVICES The present invention relates to a device foroperating a folding head or top, notably of automotive vehicles having aroof aperture adapted to be closed by means of a folding curtain or likestructure.

In installation of this character three requirements must be met:

Firstly, the folding curtain should be economically sound;

Secondly, a reliable weather tightness is absolutely necessary,especially at the front portion of the curtain, and

Thirdly, in the closed position the curtain material must be safelytensioned.

It is known to operate slidingroof panels by means of cables guidedalong lateral guide rails and leading to driving means such as anelectromotor or a crank-handle actuating a suitable mechanism. However,this type of control system is applicable more particularly to rigidsliding roofs.

Soft-top systems are also known wherein a head curtain or sheet ofadequate material is wound or unwound manually,

and held in its stowed position by suitable straps or the like;alternately, other devices are adapted to be folded symmetricallytowards the middle of the roof length, thus freeing the major portion ofthe roof space above the passengers heads.

However, rigid sliding roofs are objectionable in that at the most onlyabout one-half of the vehicle roof can be uncovered. or opened.

Hitherto known folding head or drop-head (convertible) systems clear theroof more completely but on the other hand their automatization is bothelaborate and expensive. In fact, this car top design requires acomplicated and costly control system comprising connecting and flexionmeans between two bows. Up to now these means required a great number ofparts the manufacture and fitting of which are particularly delicate.

The front-joint weather-tightness, between the top of the windscreenframe (or the front edge of the roof) and the movable front cross memberof the folding head, requires in general that said cross member exerts asubstantial pressure against a rubber moulding glued to said frame.Thus, the bearing or sealing face of the front cross member must bereleased before actually starting the backward movement or transferthereof. This requirement frequently leads to the provision of atwo-section front cross member, with one section being guided parallelto the longitudinal centre line of the vehicle body,.and the othersection linked to said one section in order to act as a jaw therewithwhen unfolding and closing the top. Now the number of elementsconstituting this linkage and pivotal mounting is abnormally high, andthe machining and assembling of their component elements constitutes adelicate operation resulting into a relatively costly construction. Itis an essential object of this invention to avoid this inconvenience.

On the other hand, the problem of tensioning the folding head in itsclosed position was solved up to now by separating the actual tensioningphase from the transfer of the folded head. As a rule, the sheet tensionis obtained by using a manually operated cam or eccentric hook. Thetransfer action is either manual or electrically operated. In this lastinstance the complicated structure of the front cross member preventsthe housing of an electric motor therein, and therefore this motor hasto be secured to the fixed roof structure proper.

With this object in view, the present invention provides an automaticcontrol device for folding heads, notably of motor vehicles, which isdriven from a motor and reduction-gearing unit transmitting the drive topinions meshing with racks extending laterally on either side of theaxis of displacement of the folding curtain, this device beingcharacterized in that it comprises alternate guided and free bows,attached to the curtain covering them, a shaped longitudinal sectionmember on either side of the roof opening, parallel to the axis ofdisplacement of the folding curtain and rigid with the body structure ofthe vehicle, a longitudinal slideway mounted on each longitudinalsection member, a plastic slide disposed on either side of the guidedbow, rigid therewith and in siding engagement with the correspondingslideway, and torsion bars interconnecting on either side of the curtaina free bow to the next guided bow, each torsion bar being secured at oneend to said slide and at the other end to the free how in order to keepthem at a substantially equal relative spacing and to have a tensionsufficient to permit, during the roof opening operation controlled bythe device, the pivotal movement of the free bow with said torsion barabout said guided bow, and subsequently passing over the precedingguided bow, in the roof-opening direction, when the curtain tension isslackened.

Other features characterizing this invention will appear as thefollowing description proceeds with reference to the attached drawingillustrating diagrammatically by way of example a typical form ofembodiment of the automatic folding head system of this invention. Inthe drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle equipped with afolding head according tothis invention, the roof being shown in itsopen condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view with parts broken away showing one side ofthe device with one torsion bar ensuring the move ment of a movable bowin relation to a guided bow, and

FIG. 3 is another perspective view with parts broken away showing thefront portion of the folding head and illustrating the driving means andthe closing device of this invention.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the folding head, the freebows being in their flat position.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the folding head when thefree bows are in an intermediate pivoted position.

In the example illustrated, FIG. 1 shows a movable folding curtain orsoft top or head of a motor vehicle which is designated as a whole bythe reference numeral 1, attached to a number of bows 2 guided by a pairof slideways 5 disposed on either side of the curtain and parallel tothe longitudinal axis of the vehicle body, other bows 9 alternating withsaid guided bows 2 and attached to the curtain being free to permittheir passage over the guided bows during the roof opening operation.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawing, it willbe seen that the bow 2 has its ends secured to a strap-forming integralportion of a slide or guide member 4 of plastic material slidablymounted on a slideway 5. This slideway 5 is rigidly mounted to one arm 6of a lateral shaped longitudinal section member 7 advantageously formedby folding a sheet metal blank or strip and welded to the body structureof the vehicle. The free bow 9 alternating with the guided bow 2, asshown in FIG. 2, at the rear, in relation of the normal direction ofmovement of the vehicle, is connected to the slide or guide member 4 ofbow 2 through a torsion bar 10 having a bent end 11 engaged in a hole 12of bow 9 and its other bent end 13 securely pivotally attached to saidslide or guide member 4. This torsion bar keeps the two bows 2 and 9 ata constant relative distance and is tensioned in the closed roofposition.

When the folding head or roof is closed, the free bows 9 are in asubstantially flat position with respect to each other, as shown in FIG.4, and the tortion bars 10 are substantially parallel to the slideway 5.

When the roof is 'being opened, the guided bows 4 are moved by drivingpinion 16 toward the rear end of the roof opening, and the torsion bars10 lift in succession, during the operation, the free bows 9 by causingsame to pivot about the next guided bow 2, as shown by the arrows f andthe dash lines A 9 denoting the contour of the free bow, as shown inFIG. 3.

When the tension of the material constituting the curtain l isslackened, the torsion bar 10 permits the passage of the free bow 9 overthe preceding guided bow 2 in the roof opening direction, as illustratedin FIG. 5 showing the intermediate pivoting state and in FIG. 1 thefinal position of the curtain.

A rubber moulding or weather strip 14 is disposed between the curtain 1and the longitudinal side member 7 to seal the joint in the closedposition of the device.

The front portion of the folding head as illustrated in FIG. 3 consistsessentially of a metal cross member 15 having secured thereto the powermeans for actuating this head (for instance an electric-motor andreduction-gearing unit, not shown in the drawing) which drives on eitherside of the roof a pinion 16, preferably of suitable plastic material,in constant meshing engagement with a corresponding fixed lateral rack17. A plastic slide 18 acts both as a bearing to the shaft 19 of pinionl6 and as guide along slideway 5. The head curtain 1 is sandwichedbetween a sheet metal member 20 and said cross member 15, the latterhaving the curtain end secured thereto for example by means of screws(not shown).

With this assembly the folding curtain 1 can be transferred on theslides 5, folded and closed. The non-reversing characteristic of themotor and reduction gearing unit makes it possible to stop the curtainin any desired position and makes the assembly tamper-proof in theclosed position.

In order to promote an improved weather tightness along the upper crossmember 21 of the windscreen frame 22 a plastic slide 23 is connected tothe movable cross member 15 rigid with the curtain 1. This slide 23 isadapted, during the head closing movement, to slide on the end portionof slideway 5 which is curved downwards and forwards of the vehicle soas to be subsequently secured to the aforesaid upper cross member 21 ofthe windscreen frame 22. Under these conditions the slide 23 permits thetilting of the assembly comprising the sheet member 20, curtain l andcross member at the end of the roof closing movement, as illustrated indash and dot lines in F IG. 3, in order to seal the joint along thecross member 21 of the frame by means of a transverse rubber moulding 14and also to complete the proper tensioning of curtain 1.

Although a specific form of embodiment of the folding head structure ofthis invention has been described hereinabove and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, it will readily occur to those skilled in the artthat various modifications and changes may be brought thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A device for opening and closing a folding roof covering a roofaperture of an automotive vehicle having an automatically controlledfolding roof curtain, comprising a motor and reduction-gearing unit,pinions driven by said unit and in constant meshing engagement withfixed racks extending laterally on either side of the longitudinal axisof the curtain, guided and free bows alternately disposed along the roofcurtain and in a direction generally perpendicular to said longitudinalaxis thereof and secured to the curtain, a shaped longitudinal sectionmember disposed on either side of the roof aperture, parallel to theaxis of movement of said curtain and rigid with the structure of thevehicle, a longitudinal slideway rigidly mounted on each longitudinalsection member, a slide rigidly mounted on either side of each guidedbow, each slide being adapted to engage a corresponding slideway, andtorsion bars interconnecting on each side of said curtain each free bowand an adjacent guided bow, each torsion bar being pivotally attached atone end to a slide of said guided bow and at the opposite end to saidfree bow so as to keep said guided bow and said free bow everywhere at asubstantially equal relative spacing, the pivotal attachment of saidtorsion bars to said slides including means for biasing said torsionbars against said slides when the curtain covers the roof aperturewhereby the tension produced in said torsion bars is sufficient to causea pivotal movement of the free bows about the guided bow slides to whichthey are attached, said movement lifting portions of said roof curtain,and said torsion bars having such a shape and are so pivotally attachedto said slides so that the free bow to which a pair of said torsion barsis attached is capable of passing over the guided bow rearwardlyadjacent said free bow when the roof curtain is opened.

2. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a movable crossmember fixed at the front end of said folding curtain and supportingsaid motor and reduction-gearing unit having a vertical output shaft fordriving said rack-engaging inions which have horizontal axes, otherguides engagin said ongltudmal slideways and acting as bearings for thesha s of said pinions, and further guides engaging said longitudinalslideways, said further guides being rigid with and disposed ahead ofsaid cross member.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said slideways have theirfront ends curved downwards and adapted to coact with said furtherguides mounted ahead of said cross member, and a curtain end assemblyattached to said cross member, said curtain end assembly adapted tocompressively engage a moulding strip on the upper cross member of thewindscreen frame of the vehicle when the roof curtain is in the closedposition.

1. A device for opening and closing a folding roof covering a roofaperture of an automotive vehicle having an automatically controlledfolding roof curtain, comprising a motor and reduction-gearing unit,pinions driven by said unit and in constant meshing engagement withfixed racks extending laterally on either side of thE longitudinal axisof the curtain, guided and free bows alternately disposed along the roofcurtain and in a direction generally perpendicular to said longitudinalaxis thereof and secured to the curtain, a shaped longitudinal sectionmember disposed on either side of the roof aperture, parallel to theaxis of movement of said curtain and rigid with the structure of thevehicle, a longitudinal slideway rigidly mounted on each longitudinalsection member, a slide rigidly mounted on either side of each guidedbow, each slide being adapted to engage a corresponding slideway, andtorsion bars interconnecting on each side of said curtain each free bowand an adjacent guided bow, each torsion bar being pivotally attached atone end to a slide of said guided bow and at the opposite end to saidfree bow so as to keep said guided bow and said free bow everywhere at asubstantially equal relative spacing, the pivotal attachment of saidtorsion bars to said slides including means for biasing said torsionbars against said slides when the curtain covers the roof aperturewhereby the tension produced in said torsion bars is sufficient to causea pivotal movement of the free bows about the guided bow slides to whichthey are attached, said movement lifting portions of said roof curtain,and said torsion bars having such a shape and are so pivotally attachedto said slides so that the free bow to which a pair of said torsion barsis attached is capable of passing over the guided bow rearwardlyadjacent said free bow when the roof curtain is opened.
 2. A deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising a movable cross member fixed atthe front end of said folding curtain and supporting said motor andreduction-gearing unit having a vertical output shaft for driving saidrack-engaging pinions which have horizontal axes, other guides engagingsaid longitudinal slideways and acting as bearings for the shafts ofsaid pinions, and further guides engaging said longitudinal slideways,said further guides being rigid with and disposed ahead of said crossmember.
 3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said slideways havetheir front ends curved downwards and adapted to coact with said furtherguides mounted ahead of said cross member, and a curtain end assemblyattached to said cross member, said curtain end assembly adapted tocompressively engage a moulding strip on the upper cross member of thewindscreen frame of the vehicle when the roof curtain is in the closedposition.